Little Robot – Can Sneak Under A Door 11112
STAR.V3, a superfast, 3D-printed robot that can squeeze itself down to fit underneath a door…
Researchers at Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Lab have been able to create this “sprawl tuned autonomous robot” AKA STAR using 3D printed pieces. David Zarrouk, Andrew Pullin, Nick Kohut, and Ronald Fearing created the robot out of a number of simple, easily replaceable and biomimetic parts.
The robot can move up to 5.2 meters per second and it is especially quick on smooth surfaces. A simple control board and simple motors control the star-shaped wheels and collapsible arms.
The team aims to make it a sort of field-repairable search and rescue bot. Because you can print parts for it quickly using almost any 3D printer and it weighs only a few grams, you can carry a few of them and not worry if they break on transport. You can read a bit more about the robot here or you can just sleep with one eye open in hopes of catching this little thing before it catches you.
About the Project
This movie shows some unique feature of STAR (Sprawl Tuned Autonomous Robot). The biomimetic robot is 3D printed and controls its sprawl angle control which allows him to perform many maneuvers to overcome obstacles. In the movie the robot sprawls down and goes under a door then sprawls up.
It can run at all speeds up to 5.2m/s (43 body lengths per second) on smooth surfaces while steering is on (i.e. it can be controlled to run in straight line or turn). The legs slide to the side in order to reduce collisions with the ground which allow for better stability and steering control.
The robot was designed by:
David Zarrouk, Andrew Pullin, Nick Kohut and Ronald Fearing at the Biomimetic Millisystems Lab, UC Berkeley. (Reference: ICRA 2013)
This is the third version of our robot, we made some mechanical improvements. We added fiber reinforced rods to reduce collision damage at high speeds.
Resources:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/15/watch-this-creepy-little-robot-that-can-sneak-under-your-door/
Video Link – http://youtu.be/vXVRCpDLSHI
